Information

The Ministry aims to

increase the availability of information and open data and generate new business operations;

promote the utilisation of automation and robotics;

ensure that services and networks are safe for the users.

Key duties of the Ministry

It is the duty of the Ministry of Transport and Communications to improve access to data and, by means of regulation, provide opportunities for data-based businesses.

The Ministry is responsible for law-drafting concerning data resources and use of information. Matters related to privacy protection and security and confidentiality of communications services fall within the Ministry's mandate.

Open data enables new services

As digital systems develop, the collection of data is converting more and more into industrial activity. Openness of information is a prerequisite for new services.

Open data and continuously developing mass data analysis methods provide substantial opportunities for transport and communications services, business operations and the entire society.

The aim of the Ministry and the administrative branch is to build up users' trust in digital services and business models. New transport and communications services and their safe use call for high-quality information security throughout the delivery chain.

1. Information security and data protection

An increasing number of transport services and nearly all communication services are connected to the information and communications infrastructure. The Ministry of Transport and Communications is responsible for legislation and strategy development concerning information security in communications networks and services.

The mission is to ensure and promote the confidence of the general public, businesses and public administration in the security and privacy protection of services provided in the information society. The trust is based on aspects such as user-friendliness, adequate privacy protection and content authenticity.

The Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority, Ficora, acts as the national authority for information security. Data protection in electronic communications is monitored by Ficora and the Data Protection Ombudsman. The Police are always responsible for preliminary criminal investigation.

The Ministry is also active in the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA), which assists Member States and EU institutions in issues related to information security. ENISA’s aim is to promote a well-functioning internal market within the EU.

Links to other websites

2. Utilisation of data and information

The amount of data on the Internet is constantly increasing, for example on the use of digital services and a variety of devices and equipment.

Digitalisation is not only about developing different kinds of technological applications or new services but also about using them in a large scale.

Open data and continuously improving ways to use mass data provide substantial opportunities for businesses and the whole society. The availability of public information is important for innovations, the development of services, and transparency of society.

The aim is that publicly funded data material be available to people, businesses and other organisations. Companies also have significant data resources. If those resources were shared, it would be possible to further enhance the development of applications and services based on data resources.

One of the measures of the Government key project, Building a growth environment for digital business operations, is more efficient utilisation of big data. The project focuses on promoting digitalisation in the business sector.

3. Transport safety

The Ministry of Transport and Communications is responsible for drafting legislation on transport safety.

The aim is a continuous improvement of road safety so that the number of road fatalities has been halved and the number of serious injuries cut by one fourth by the year 2020. The figures from 2010 are used as the reference.

The Ministry of Transport and Communications co-operates with other ministries in combating drink driving and improving traffic control.

The key players in the field of road safety within the Ministry's administrative branch are the Finnish Transport Agency, Finnish Transport Safety Agency, and Liikenneturva (Finnish Road Safety Council).

Railway, aviation and maritime safety

Responsibility for the supervision of rail safety and interoperability of the railway system lies with the Finnish Transport Safety Agency, Trafi. The aim of the safety work is that railway transport is safe for people and the environment.

Trafi is also responsible for flight safety matters. Along with joint European guidelines, Finland aims to continuously reduce the number of aircraft accidents despite changes in air traffic volume and other factors affecting flight safety. For sport aviation, the goal is to maintain the existing high level of safety.

The same objective, maintaining the high safety level, also applies in the maritime transport sector. An important aspect of the work is the safety culture.

In maritime transport, international cooperation and agreements play an important role too. The Vessel Traffic Management and Information Service (VTMIS) is used for traffic plying the international sea area of the Gulf of Finland. In the VTMIS system, Finland, Russia and Estonia together monitor shipping in the Gulf of Finland and the vessels themselves have a reporting obligation.

4. Transport automation

The aim in transport policy is that a part of transport systems be automated. This offers significant possibilities for improving the safety, efficiency and sustainability of traffic and transportation.

The Ministry also promotes business operations based on transport automation by providing support for automation experiments.

Intelligent automation, and its increase, or automatisation, refer to modern robotics where a device or a system is capable of increasingly autonomous action, perception, learning and decision-making through artificial intelligence, sensors and the Internet of Things combined with software.

Transport automatisation is based on the advancement of communications and vehicle technologies. Information also plays a key role; transport information together with the transport and communications infrastructure form a platform for transport automatisation.